UNION VALE – As the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board continue their investigation into the fatal crash of a twin-engine Cessna 303 aircraft into a house at 235 South Smith Street in Union Vale Saturday afternoon, police have released the names of the victims.
Two people were killed – one in the plane and one in the house.
Two other occupants of the plane were injured and one person in the house was critically injured while the third person sustained non-life-threatening injuries, State Police said Sunday.
Francisco Knipping-Diaz, 61, of Woodmere, the pilot of the plane, died at the scene and his two passengers, Eduardo Tio, 50, of Woodmere and Teoflio Antonio Diaz Pratt, 52, of the Dominican Republic, both sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Gerard Bocker, 61, an occupant of the house, was tentatively identified as the second fatality. Two others in the house – Hannah Bocker, 21, was critically injured and Sarah Bocker, 30, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The plane, had departed from Sky Acres Airport in Lagrangeville en route to Republic Airport in Farmingdale, crashed at 4:28 p.m., according to FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.
When the plane crashed, the house caught fire prompting a call for a three-alarm response from area fire departments.
